Old Lyme — The sun shone brightly on the field by Lyme-Old Lyme High School Friday evening as blue and white balloons bobbed in the breeze, and the senior class — in blue and white robes to match — warmly remembered their high school years and congratulated each other on their bright futures.

In their speeches, students and staff recounted shared accomplishments, from athletic and artistic competitions, to successes by robotics and math teams. They shared collective laughs at inside jokes about teachers and senior pranks and held hands during the choral rendition of the song “For Good,” the lyrics of which state: “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

Class President David Peck said that the changes he has seen in his fellow classmates over the years, much like the changes they have witnessed during four years of construction of their high school, have left them able to “mold and adapt to any situation.”

Principal Jim Wygonik reminded the 113 graduates that they shared their accomplishments not only with each other, but also with family, friends and community members who filled the seats and stood together on the lawn. Wygonik told the class that their biggest fans were those people behind them.

Commencement speaker and English teacher Jennifer Burke praised students for their proven ability to “unite what they need to do with what they love to do.” She said the class gave her “great hope for our collective future.”

Essayist Isabel Ritrovato reminded the class that, while their successes and accomplishments made them great, it was their willingness to fail first that gave their achievements value.

“What about all the times we have failed? ... Without those times, our success would be irrelevant and immeasurable,” Ritrovato said. “Failure … is the only way for us to learn and grow.”

Salutatorian Robert Melchreit, giving his speech without his cap on because he said it kept falling off, urged his classmates to continue making efforts to create change in the world.

“When we produce ideas … when we change minds, we make waves,” Melchreit said. “Our waves become a force for change.”

Valedictorian Isabelle Foster acknowledged the changes she and her classmates have gone through since freshman orientation, during which she remembered receiving two pencils and promising herself to sharpen one on the first day of high school and the other on the last.

She stood at the podium and in front of friends and family and sharpened the second pencil. Holding it up, she told her classmates, “… Each of us has the ability to write our path. We have sole control of our future. What we write can last through history.”